Colombo City Centre’s, Food Studio have joined hands with The Viking Lk to bring Hot Chook to life. Hot Chook promises to serve the most scrumptious hot wings so we headed over to CCC to try it out for ourselves and boy were we in for a feast.
Appetizers
Angry Seoul is the Korean BBQ winglets that they do. They do a bloody good job with those winglets. Each one is fried to golden crispy perfection and coated in a perfectly balanced sweet and tangy glaze. They were also topped with sesame seeds and thinly sliced chilies for a bit of a kick. When you work your way through the winglets, you are going to be disappointed with how fast they disappear into your belly.
Loaded Hotties, my my my… Hot Chooks did a mighty fine spin on the classic loaded fries and it paid off. Their version of loaded fries passes with flying colours. Thin sweet potato fries, topped with spicy sriracha and creamy mayo. That is it. The flavours explode in your mouth and man it is so good. It is a bit spicy, but oh so good.
Sides
Yellow rice – Fluffy, fragrant rice infused with spices to capture the local flavours perfectly. However, it also was so distinctly different. The rice was so perfect, so delicious, easily a 10/10.
Side Salad – A fresh, simple salad made with good quality produce. It was so refreshing against the bold flavours of the other dishes and did a great job at mellowing them out.
Mac and Cheese – Cheesy, yummy goodness in every single bite. It was topped with Parmesan which provided a great contrast with the rest of the dish. Some of the best mac and cheese I have had in a long time.
Herb and Potato Wedges – Thick potato wedges seasoned to perfection with a fresh herb oil mixture that leaves you salivating for more. They were irresistible.
Sweet Potato Fries with Cocktail Sauce – These are to die for, the cocktail sauce is tangy and goes hand in hand perfectly with the fries. These revamped fries are just chef’s kisses.
Wings
Their speciality is the dipped wings. They dip their foolproof crispy wings in a secret Nashville Hot Oil, made in-house with 11 ingredients and it is simply “glorumptious”. The spicy oil blends seamlessly into the wings and creates a perfect harmony of flavours.
We also tried the naked wings and all the sauces that they had, honestly this was kind of my favourite part. All the sauces had their own distinctive flavour and own unique kick to them. It was hard to fault anything. The sauces that they served up were,
- The New Orleans Remoulade – It is mayo but with all the fine frills and grills added. Five stars.
- We Nuts for Peanuts – The peanut flavour was exquisite. It stood out so well.
- Captain Chook’s Special Sauce – This is their in-house sauce that I wish I had the recipe for.
- Honey Soy Wasabi – This sauce simply gets one hundred heart emojis.
- Hellfire Sriracha – Not your regular sriracha, this is hella spicy and hella good.
- Asian BBQ – Classis flavour but the kicker was the texture, it was not a smooth sauce yet it paired so nicely with the wings.
- Louisiana Death Wish – The name speaks for itself, it was hot!
- Nashville Hot Oil – The same one featured in the dipped wings but you can order them on the side too!
Burgers
We got to try two of their burgers.
The Smashed Buds – This meaty burger was nothing short of perfection. It was everything you wished in a burger and more. It had smashed beef patties on a bed of caramelised onions, their Asian BBQ sauce, honey mustard and creamy demi sauce. It was also topped off with a grilled egg. The buns were soft and toasted very nicely. Words will not do this burger enough justice.
The OG Chook – This is a mighty fine chicken burger. The batter-fried chicken was dipped in the secret Nashville Hot Oil and then placed on a fresh bed of slaw salad and topped with pickles and their New Orleans Remoulade. I know I have said flavours, like a hundred times already, but the flavour was impeccable. It was a home run. The crispy filling chicken was counterbalanced by the fresh slaw and the pickles, MAMMA MIA!
Hot Dogs
Mac ‘n’ Cheese Dawg – This was a big one, A 12” chicken bockwurst sausage dipped in the same Nashville Hot Oil and then topped with their perfectly decadent Mac ‘n’ Cheese. I’m running out of words to describe how good everything was. It was some good stuff.
Ambience
The Food Studio at Colombo City Center is always bustling. However, when we went around 2 o’clock, the lunch rush had mellowed out and it was a bit calmer. Hot Chooks is located right at the beginning of The Food Studio, on to your left. The ambience matches the food served perfectly!
Service
All of the servers were really friendly, so full of smiles! They will not hesistate to answer all your questions to the best of their abilities. The food also did not take long to be served. Five star service.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the entire Hot Chook experience was exceptional. Ditch the cutlery and dive right in, the food is top tier. It is also worth every single rupee! One well eating person can spend Rs 1000-1500/- and be full to the brim.